Debugging is a process for identifying and removing bugs or defects in program code, thereby ensuring that the program will behave as expected. Debugging involves a variety of aspects including, but not limited to, interactive debugging, control flow, integration testing, log files, application or system monitoring, memory dumps, profiling, statistical process control, and special design tactics to improve detection of bugs while simplifying changes.
In some scenarios, the coding and debugging are separated from one another. For example, for a program designed to be executed on a mainframe, conventionally a programmer prepares and compiles source code on a machine such as a personal computer (PC) or a server. Then the compiled code is migrated onto the mainframe platform for debugging, for example, by means of middleware. Due to the separation of coding and debugging, development lifecycle for such programs are generally tedious. If any change is made in the debugging, the programmer has to update the source code manually to keep the change, if desired. This problem also exists in other program developments where the coding and debugging are carried out on different platforms.